Service Learning: Oxymoron?
Service: Contribution to the welfare of others
Learning: Knowledge or skill acquired by instruction or study.
Service Learning, at first, sounds like an oxymoron. To give and to receive at the same time is the finest gift. In fact, there are no better words to describe the thirty hours I spent working with students. I am on the journey to becoming an elementary school teacher, and my service learning experience profoundly enhanced my education. I loved the classroom environment; helping out in the classrooms widened my view and understanding of how classrooms are managed. For instance, I experienced times when my creativity was stimulated and times when I witnessed the importance of well managed time. The contrast in situations gave me a clear view of how I want to manage my future classroom. My first hand participation in the classroom environment stimulated my desire to be a teacher, inspiring my dream to impact children.
I have come to an understanding of how important the role of a teacher is. The teacher is the person who creates the atmosphere. The classrooms that I witnessed were affected by the teachers’ organization and time management skills. The students always followed the lead of the teacher, doing whatever they thought was acceptable by the boundaries that were established. In Mrs. Morris’* third grade classroom, I noticed how tidy and organized she kept the classroom, with everything in its place and orderly. I was able to visualize myself in my very own classroom with the same kind of organization. This classroom gave me the feeling that the teacher was prepared for each step of the day, moving from one task to the next with composure and grace. Throughout her many years of teaching, she has learned to give the students what they need and what they want at the same time. This is a quality I plan to nurture in my education, learning organization and preparation in order to teach gracefully in my own classroom.
By having strong organizational skills, the teacher was able to concentrate on the education of each child. Rather than taking precious class time preparing, Mrs. Morris was able to spend time teaching to the different learning styles. I have learned through my Introduction to Education course that the different learning styles of visual, auditory and kinesthetic are very important for teachers to understand: by teaching to the different styles, every child has a better opportunity to succeed. For instance, while working on story problems in math, Mrs. Morris went through the problem in several ways. She began by reviewing a song that told how to do story problems. The class sung this together, to the tune of the Addams Family, including the Da-da-da-da, snap-snap. “Underline the Question, Circle Information. . .” The students all participated and seemed to enjoy this doorway to the math world. Once they started doing the math, she had one student read the problem, other students would act it out, and another would write it on the board. This math activity stimulated the students, engaging all children to participate. Mrs. Morris told me that learning needs to be exciting for children to want to participate. After the story problems, the students broke up into groups for math activities. They worked very well together and did an excellent job of staying on task. The students were able to do this because Mrs. Morris set a tone for success with her classroom by being a strong leader with effective classroom management skills.
Mrs. Morris was gracious with her time as she allowed me to teach an art and literature project to her class. This was a fortunate opportunity that gave me first hand experience of standing in the front of the classroom with all eyes on me. I told the students that they were going to draw caricatures of themselves. I showed them a sample of the one I did and they all looked at me like I was crazy. This did not look easy; they instantly doubted their ability to draw a cartoon of their own face. As I began to give directions, the hands started to wave in the air, “Will you help us, I can’t draw that good?” I reassured them that the project would reveal itself through the directions and to hold their questions until I passed out the packets of stencils. This cartoon was a tracing project and the students could pick from several hair types and facial features. Once they saw all the options, they became very excited, creating some very funny likenesses of themselves. I also had them do a writing project that related to this art activity. The students were to write descriptive words or phrases about themselves that started with the letters in their name. For instance, my name is Carrie: Caring, Attentive, Reasoning, Reliable, Is always singing, Eager to learn. The students were able to pick adjectives and phrases that describe them and it was hung on the wall next to their caricature. This activity proved to be an eye opening experience in a few ways. First, I realized that it is important to know what you are going to say before you get to the front of the classroom. Even though I knew how to do the project, it is different to teach it. I also learned that an activity can become more involved than expected. This proved to be a positive aspect as the students pulled out their dictionaries to find descriptive words to use in their names. Learning that the pride students feel when they have completed a project is infectious, I felt so good that I was able to take them from doubtful students to being proud of what they had accomplished.
I saw that same excitement and pride in eighth grade English classes at Gilbert Junior High School. I was able to work in several small groups to help the students create limericks. I was placed with students who were struggling with their writing. As we began, I realized that the students wanted me to do the work for them. They seemed to have an, I-can’t-do-it-attitude. They said, “How should I start?” and “I don’t know what to write.” Each child had a theme that they were to write about, and I asked them why they chose that theme. As they started to tell me what they liked about their theme, I had them write it down, forming the poem from the things they said about their subject. By asking the students to describe their ideas beyond the obvious, they were able to expand on them and create poetry. Through this one on one activity these students were able to accomplish something, and again, I was able to see the impact I had on them when they grew excited about writing. This situation would not have been possible for these students if they had not had the time that I was able to provide, because the Junior High class period is so short. This was another reason I found that it is important for a teacher to be prepared and organized. I was able to work in small groups in Mrs. Morris’ class also. By working with the learning disabled students on math facts, I saw how important the one on one time is for these students. They were to use manipulatives to create sums of six blocks, establishing all the possible equations. We did an adding activity with cards to solidify the math facts of six in their heads. By the time we finished, these children felt good about what they had learned and I could see the confidence rise on their faces. Taking one on one time or time in small groups is so important to the success of some children, and I am glad I was able to contribute.
My service learning experience was such a satisfying use of my time, an experience that allowed me to give and receive some valuable lessons. As I worked with students on different projects, I learned how valuable time is. I read an anonymous quote that said, “One thing you can’t recycle is wasted time.” I believe this is a great quote for teachers to keep in mind on a daily basis. Teacher’s thoughtful use of time is essential to the productivity of the classroom. I intend to take this knowledge with me further into my education and then into my classroom. The time management lessons I learned enhanced my education and gave me ideas about how I will manage my classroom. I am sure that I received more out of this experience than the students, but I like to think that I had some small impact on them, if even for a few hours.
*Names were changed
Graphics retrieved from: Print Shop Pro 6.0
Author:
Carrie Seather
Last modified:
4/29/2006 5:20 AM (EST)
Please wait...